Closed Eyes
by ChaoticNights
Summary: This wolf girl is a soulstealer and she's after the souls of our heroes! I apologize, it starts off slow! But you'll understand...if you live in the nightmare of reality.
1. Meet Eclipse

My name is Eclipse. Some call me a thief, some call me a demon, and some just call me by my name, Eclipse. But whatever you want to call me…

I'm still the one who owns…This Nightmare.

* * *

You've gotta learn three things to steal gems- Silence, Swiftness, and Smoothness. That's it. Easy? Then you can steal as many as you want. It's fair that way.

It's dark, where you get them, but it's worth it. These gems are priceless. These gems are dreams.

So you could call me a soulstealer too.

I'm always on the lookout for dreams. Why? Because I'm living in a nightmare. It's a maze of color, a labyrinth of webs, and a globe of tears.

Nightmares aren't always scary.

They're just lost.

* * *

"…One ticket, please!" I cheerily. "I'm going to Station Square!"

The ticket lady smiled. "Here you are." She said. "Aren't we happy?"

I smiled. My ticket to freedom was in my hands. Now I could sleep in a new place, a new nightmare, more new dreams.

As I boarded the train, I could hear the whistles blowing, the people chatting, the tapping of feet, and the buzzing of the humdrum hearts. I couldn't listen to that buzzing. That buzzing always returned me to the reality, when I just liked to stay in this nightmare. I could never…go back to sleep.

I sat down in the train, closed my eyes and sighed. Behind my eyes was the reality. If I didn't look back, I'd die. Wouldn't I? You can't sleep forever…

"Hello?" Someone asked. I opened my eyes. It was a hedgehog, a pink one. I blinked.

"Hi!" I said, warily.

"…Can I sit here?" The hedgehog asked. By the red dress and stylish boots, I knew it was a girl.

"Okay." I said, and she slid in across from me.

For a second, I could hear the beat of her heart. Ba-dum, Ba-dum, a forever beating drum.

"Where are you going?" The girl asked, and I smiled.

"To Station Square." I told her. "What about you?"

"I'm going there too! Are you visiting someone?"

"No. Just for fun."

The girl turned her green eyes on me. "I don't want to be nosy, but what are you?"

"I'm a wolf." I told her. Most people don't recognize the wolf like qualities in me, but they should. I'm ragged at the edges, alone, and only a silhouette. What else could I be?

"A wolf?" She asked, smiling. "Wow. I've…never seen a wolf before."

I shook my head. "no?" I asked. "Well then, you've met your first. My name's Eclipse."

"Eclipse?" She asked. 'My name is Amy. Amy Rose."

I smiled. A name like that was a strong one. "…That's very pretty."

"…Eclipse," Amy said, looking out the window. "you seem like a kid, you know?"

I twitched my ear. "A kid?"

"You seem to be happy about everything. Everything…has hope for you."

"How would you know that?" I asked. In this nightmare, there was hope for me. Whereas in reality, there was not.

"It's just a hunch." Amy said. The train started moving, and I listened to the band of the nightmare I lived in.

"…Well, Amy," I said, as the train picked up speed. "Just remember this."

"What?" She asked.

"Be careful what you see…behind closed eyes."

* * *

As I stepped off the train, Amy said, "I was thinking about what you said. What does it mean?"

I shrugged. "Whatever you want it to mean." I smiled into the domed windows above us. "I really am just a kid. With big hopes and big dreams."

Amy touched my shoulder. "Eclipse, you have a place to stay?"

"Nope." I said. I looked at her, and grinned. "I can rough it."

Amy shook her head. "You have to stay with me." She told me. But I shook my head.

You see, if I stayed…then I'd be tempted to take…her dreams.

"I want to learn what it's like to live with no restrictions…with nothing to keep me in one place for too long." I said.

Amy looked at me sadly. "Well, if you really want to."

I smiled. "I do." I said. "But I'll come with you for a little while."

Amy smiled again. "Okay." She said, joyously. "I live downtown. In fact, a friend of mine is supposed to be picking me up soon. You can meet him. He's really nice."

I nodded. Then I listened again. The same old song. The beating of the hearts made a drumming beat to the clicking and humming and whistling of the world.

This world.

My Nightmare.

Their…Reality.

* * *

Yes, that was a funny way to write a story…for me anyway.

I'm such a drama queen. Anyway, this story, 'Closed Eyes' is meant to be a little more confusing than other stories because I don't make sense.

What's the deal with Eclipse, you ask?

I donno. She's just a character I made up…five…minutes…ago. No, ten. No…

Point is, I just made her up. Personality, everything. So what's gonna happen next? Who knows?


	2. Stolen Away

My name is Eclipse. You can call me a demon, or you could call me an angel. But still, I'm only a girl.

Only a girl in charge of her nightmare.

* * *

Dreams are easy to catch. When you see them, you'll understand. They are beautiful and shiny. And they are all you'll ever need.

But you can die from dreaming. You can die if you make it too perfect.

That's why you shouldn't sleep too much.

Because soon someone like me will come along.

And We'll steal it away.

And leave you shivering in the dark.

* * *

"Amy!"

She turned. "There he is! Sonic!" She called, waving her arms wildly.

I smiled when he dodged her hug. He instead said, "I'm here to pick you up." Before his eyes settled on me. I guess it's strange…to see a wolf. "Who are you?"

I smiled. "A friend." I said.

He blinked. "Well. I'm Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog!"

Amy grinned. "He's my boyfriend."

"I am NOT." He protested.

Their hearts beat harmoniously. Yes, they were in love. How perfectly wonderful. It made me…jealous. And jealousy makes me steal… the dreams.

I hide jealousy with interest. But that doesn't always work, because sometimes it's not interesting.

And then I want to just take the dreams away.

"come on, Eclipse!" Amy said. "you have to come for lunch!"

I nodded. But…

If I was awake, it would be lunch now. I closed my eyes. Yes. The clock said, in fluorescent green, time for lunch, 3:20. If I woke up, would I die?

I opened my eyes. "Lunch…sounds good."

* * *

It always seems like everything's going around in a blur. I never take time to look at my surrounding, because when I do, they just blow around faster like a pile of leaves. I don't want to wait until the picture is clear. I just want to move ahead. That's how Sonic seems. Just like me.

But he's a super sonic speed runner, and I'm just a lone wolf. Just a silhouette in a picture, a shadow in the misty haze of memory. Nothing… is like me.

"So where you from, Eclipse?" Sonic asked.

I looked up from staring into my tea. "I just came from Diamond Valley." I said.

"Diamond…Isn't that where all those weird things were happening?" Amy asked.

"Weird things…" I repeated. Weird. When people lose their dreams, the word to describe them is weird. It's weird to be that way isn't it? "Like what?"

Sonic gaped. "You didn't see it going on? I saw it on the news!" He grinned. "I wanted to go over and check it out. Then Eggman had to step in, so I stayed here. But everything's quiet over there now."

"It was some hunter!" Amy said. "Hunting for precious jewels."

"I heard they were black," Sonic cut in.

"Yeah, and the hunter used their mind to like tear people apart. Like, they were screaming and crying about the worst thing that happened in their lives…" Amy continued.

The story wasn't all the way true. I was looking… for food.

"The weird thing is the hunter didn't touch any of the DV's other precous stones. You know, Diamonds." Sonic said.

"Yeah, it seemed funny." Amy sighed. "Can't believe you didn't notice it, Eclipse!"

"…" I smiled. "My surroundings aren't all that important."

Amy shrugged. "Suit yourself."

I looked down at my tea. I had stopped eating the solid food here, in this Nightmare, and I started only eating the dreams that I caught. No, I can't drink this tea…

Because this tea is spilt.

On the fabrics of my Nightmare.

* * *

To unconfuse people about Eclipse so far:

Eclipse is a wolf.

Eclipse is taking dreams away from people.

Eclipse eats dreams.

Eclipse is not in the right world.

To understand dreams:

Dreams are jewels.

Dreams, when taken away, cause you to remember horrible things in your life.

Dreams are black.

To Clear up Nightmares:

Nightmares are 'Imaginary Worlds'. You can live a nightmare.

Nightmares are never taken away. They leave an impact forever.

Nightmares are white.

All so you can understand this story.


	3. The Real Reason

My name is Eclipse. They call me a shadow, and they call me a fake. Still they know the truth.

They're only figments of my nightmare.

* * *

Everything of value to you is in a dream. Some people think they live in a dream, but they're wrong. Life and dreams are separate beings. Life is not a jewel. It's a mirror. Dreams are jewels. They adorn the mirror of Life, covering up the stains of mistakes.

But one you take them away, there's nothing left but your pain.

That's why everyone everywhere has a dream.

And then there are those who take them away.

* * *

I was hungry. Not just hungry. I was STARVING.

It had been a day since I…ate. I was hungry again. Should I…eat?

"Excuse me," I said, getting up, slowly. Amy nodded.

As I walked away, I thought. Dreams aren't satisfying by themselves. You need millions of dreams to go for a week. I had almost expired in Diamond Valley. If I didn't think fast, I would go back.

I…don't want to go back.

I went into the bathroom, where I sat down on the sink's ledge. Whenever I started to eat dreams, I would scare people who got close away. So I'd have to be careful not to make friends. I had made a mistake this time. I had made two.

To survive, I'd have to eat their dreams too.

But I'd feel…horrible. When I didn't know them, then I could easily take their dreams away.

"Miss…uh…" A woman stared at me. I smiled.

"…Dreamweaver…" I murmured, extending my arm and reaching into her soul.

* * *

The restaurant was filled with cries of pain and fear and anger…But I could still smile. Only a few more dreams and I'd be satisfied.

"Eclipse!" Amy yelled. I looked her direction. For a second, Amy looked afraid for me. Then, she looked afraid for herself. "It was you…this whole time…" she whispered. Even over the blur of the crowd, the frenzied beating of the hearts, I could hear her, perfectly.

She took two small steps back, and I smiled. "Are you…afraid?" I asked, turning to face her.

Amy lowered her head. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But then…I somehow knew it was you. Why are you doing this?"

I shrugged. "I have to eat to survive."

"But…" She whispered, and she was washed away by the blur of the crowd.

Still, I smiled. Calm and peaceful. No fear, no anxiety. Finally, I'd be full.

I wanted to finish this and move on. Maybe leave Station Square and head for an even bigger city. If I did, the news would trail me like toilet paper on someone's foot.

That was exciting sometimes.

"You!" I heard Sonic, and I turned again.

He was pointing, trembling. "Me?" I asked, turning to face him now. "What about me?"

"…You're doing this to us!" He said. He narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"That's always the question." I told him. "Always."

"What's the reason for stealing…whatever you're stealing?"

"I'm stealing?" I asked. "If a lion kills and eats an antelope, is it stealing?"

"No…that's survival." Sonic said. I blocked out the blur, the noise. It was silent, save his voice. "…Are you saying…you're doing something like that?"

"I take dreams. I have to survive, don't I?"

He looked like he was sick. "But what about them?"

I looked at the woman I saw in the bathroom. "They are alive. It's fair."

"But they're in pain."

I smiled. "So am I. That's why I'm here."

Sonic narrowed his eyes again. "What do you mean? Why are you smiling?"

I laughed. "I shouldn't smile?" I asked, turning. "I'll tell you something. You don't live in a 'reality'. This is my…nightmare."

"Nightmare?" He asked.

"It's called Lucid Dreaming. To return to a dream in which you once had." I told him. "Of course, I chose a nightmare."

"But no one likes nightmares. They're scary. 'Specially someone like you, you would hate nightmares."

"You don't know that. You don't know who I am." I looked over my shoulder at him. "Everything around you…is fake."

"But then how would I be arguing with you?" He asked. "Shouldn't I be screaming like them?"

"I haven't taken anything from you." I told him. "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because…you're my friend."

He wrinkled his nose. "You would spare me?"

"Yes, you and Amy. Why?"

"…" He looked surprised. "That's almost the chance of a lifetime." He said.

"Yeah?' I asked, looking for Amy.

"But if this a nightmare, why are you here? What's the point?"

"In reality," I said, "I'm sick."

"You're sick?"

"I've got a disease." I told him. "They want to study me."

"…" He lowered his eyes. "That's bad."

"I decided I'd rather not…live there through the pain of it all." I paused. "So I came here."

"Pain?" he asked, moving a little closer.

"The disease is…painful." I shuddered. "I would think I'm on the verge of death."

"What!"

But I only smiled. "Life is but a dream…" I said, and I let the noise return, and then I faded into the fabrics of the nightmare.

This nightmare…

Is a no man's land reality.

* * *

I wanna thank all you reviewers! I also want to apologize for making it look like I finished. I got writer's block. Again. But, I was up all night, so this is done. Maybe one more chapter.

I know, I know, my story is sooo undramatical. Thank you, thank you.

Yeah, I'm done. Review now!


	4. Running Away

My name is Eclipse. I might be here, but then again, I might not be. So where am I exactly?

I'm in the nightmare.

* * *

If you learn to protect your dreams, maybe they won't get taken. And the mirror that you hold inside of you won't be tainted. Then you could live forever, in your sleep. But what would be the reason for living forever? To keep wondering and dreaming about the same people and the same things?

If you make your mirror too perfect, you become nothing. And when you're nothing, you are simply erased.

No one deserves to be erased.

So why do you think I steal the dreams away?

* * *

I was going to leave again. Maybe I'd head away to Putnam Valley, where I could start over.

"One ticket to Putnam Valley, please!" I giggled, unable to hold my pleasure in. I like leaving, it's always full of so much food and so much excitement.

The ticket man was holding up my ticket, and I was reaching out, but...

"Stop!" I turned at the voice. This is why friends were useless. They try to hold you back, but you're trying to go forward. But I can't take away the dreams of someone that I trust or that I love…it eats me up inside.

"…Sonic." I narrowed my eyes. "Are you coming with me then?"

Amy was with him, I noticed. She was crying. She was so angry with me. Because I should be nice, and just fall over and die. That's what I should have done. Way back when.

"How could you?" She asked. "I trusted you! I thought you were"

"It's not what you think." I smiled, and she gaped like a fish. "I eat to survive. I don't want to die. Is it wrong that I want to live?"

Sonic pointed at me, his finger trembling. "All those people!" He said.

"They're just in pain. Everything will be fine." I smiled. "Everything will be fine."

"But they…" Amy cried.

"Come with us, Eclipse." Sonic said. I blinked, frowned, and shook my head.

But I guess I didn't have any choice, because I was just dragged off.

* * *

"Why?" Amy asked, crying. "Why? How could you, Eclipse?" So many tears, so many sobs. Why? They weren't dead. But I would be.

I smiled. "It's very easy, actually." I told her. "I got hungry, and so I ate."

"hungry?" Sonic asked. "Why can't you eat bread?" So many questions, but it's so simple! Do I have to answer?

"This is a dream." I told him. "The people in here might be real, but the things are just imaginary." I shrugged and said, "So I could just eat humans if you'd like. But I take their dreams."

Sonic widened his eyes. "Eat humans…?"

Why was that so mortifying? I wasn't doing it. And now, I had to take their dreams, and their memories, and everything they wanted all because they just didn't want to leave me alone.

"Don't you hurt…when you do this?"

"Why would I hurt?" Hurting was what I was getting away from. And since the people weren't aware of their dreams…

"Because you're hurting other people." Amy whimpered.

"You want me to die, because I can get the food I need but it hurts people, and hurting people is bad?" I asked them.

"die?" Sonic wondered aloud. "Are you even really alive?"

"That's a lovely question." I said, with a half grin. "Maybe not. But then, when I close my eyes…I'm alive again."

"Alive again? Have you died before…?" Amy widened her eyes.

"I might have." My tone was nonchalant, because dying didn't hurt if you were dreaming.

"But you can't just live off of other people. It's wrong."

"But you do it. You don't make your own bread, or grow your own crops…you just take."

Sonic winced when I said that. Was I wrong? I don't think so. "But we make an even trade for it."

"What about the people who don't have the money to…?" I asked. "Aren't they in pain? Why can't you help them?"

Amy looked taken aback. "Don't you see…?" She asked. "You're just causing more pain."

"But pain can be dulled…death can be stalled…and you can't live without the pain that you get."

It's all so true. What is it they say? _C'est la vie_, that's life.

They looked at each other, and then… "Why are you running away?" Sonic asked.

"Running away?" I asked, and then I laughed. away? From what? "I'm not running."

"But…you don't want to die." Amy said. "You just keep running away."

"I can't die…not now. There's so much I need to do. So much I have to see." So many dreams I haven't tasted. So many Mirrors I have to see.

"But it's your time to go." Sonic said.

"You can't live forever." Amy continued.

"I don't want to live forever." I told them. "But…" I really don't want…to live for eternity. Eternity is a long time. And forever is too short of a word to describe itself.

"Don't you think it's time to go?" Sonic asked. "It's time for you to leave."

"…I don't need to leave." I said. Wasn't that true? Why leave when I could do what I want?

"…someone is out there.." Amy said. "Someone who is dying from a disease who wants to keep living too…but they have to die."

Yes, there were many people like me. But should I stop living because they haven't figured it out? Then what do I do, Tell them about it in heaven?

"I know I have to die. But, why, when I can live to be old, and then die? Why can't I live and be old like normal people?"

"We can't tell you…" Sonic said. "But living through other people's pain.… is it satisfying?"

That… I'm not sure of. Was it satisfying? Was I running away?

"Maybe it's time to face your own pain, Eclipse." Amy whispered.

"…" I lowered my head. "Maybe."

* * *

As I put my head down on the pillow, I remembered how much fun I've had. All the things I've done. The places I've been. I was pretty lucky.

But I have to die now. Because I can't live forever, even thought I don't want to, and I can't live for longer than I'm supposed to. Maybe I'm dying for a reason. Maybe there's something that I'll find out, from dying. Whatever it is, I'm ready for it now.

You can stall death. But it'll always linger with you. You'll smell like it, look like it… you'll feel it inside you.

But you can't not die. Living for an eternity kills you inside. It'll kill you because you're going to be so…so… alive. You'll be so alive, so full. The parts of you that you cherish, your imagination, your mind, and your sanity- they'll wither away. If everything you dream became possible, if you could live without check…

Then you'd truly be in a nightmare.

* * *

I know, I ended kinda weird, but…

Hey, now you know, right? Please review and thanks for reading! You're so awesome!


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